Robust Bioprocess Design and Evaluation of Commercial Media for the Serial Expansion of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Aggregate Cultures in Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors
This publication evaluates the robustness of a baseline process for serial expansion of human induced pluripotent stem cell aggregates in Vertical-Wheel bioreactors. Five commercial media and multiple cell lines were examined through short-term culture and serial passaging. Process outputs included growth kinetics, aggregate morphology, harvest efficiency, pluripotency, genomic stability, and response to stresses associated with in-vessel dissociation. All tested media supported spherical aggregate formation and strong expansion during an initial six-day culture, but important performance differences emerged only during serial passage. Some formulations maintained growth and cell quality over multiple cycles, including ten consecutive passages, while others produced cell lysis, reduced growth, or loss of aggregate morphology. The study demonstrates that robust process design requires long-term evaluation of media and operating variables rather than reliance on a single short culture.
This application note demonstrates the benefits of PBS Biotech’s PBS-Mini Vertical-Wheel® Bioreactor within a scalable workflow developed with Bio-Techne for hiPSC expansion and differentiation into functional pancreatic islet-like clusters. The bioreactor supported robust aggregate culture while maintaining more than 95% pluripotency during hiPSC expansion and supporting progression through key stages of pancreatic differentiation. Combined with Bio-Techne’s GMP-grade reagents and analytical solutions, the workflow generated beta cell-containing, functional islet-like clusters that…
This webinar examines scalable suspension culture of PSC-derived organoids using PBS Biotech Vertical-Wheel bioreactors. PBS Applications Engineer, Hannah Worden, explains how low-shear, homogeneous mixing and consistent geometry support organoid process development and scale-up. Case studies cover liver, pancreatic islet, and cerebellar organoids, including aggregate-size control, differentiation, functional markers, and improved organization under dynamic culture. With the audience, we address agitation, seeding density, media formulation, perfusion-based medium exchange, sampling, and…
This poster, presented at ISSCR Kyoto 2026, demonstrates a scalable strategy for iPSC manufacturing using Vertical-Wheel Bioreactors, addressing expansion, process development, cell banking, and differentiation. Linear scale-up from PBS-0.1 through PBS-80 produced 200 billion iPSCs at a 50 L working volume while maintaining pluripotency and normal karyotype. High-density work cell banks were developed through 3D adaptation and retained differentiation potential toward cardiomyocytes and pancreatic progenitors. MiniPRO further served as a controlled scale-down model, demonstrating growth…
How Can We Help?
Tell us what you need and we’ll take it from there.